A Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) has been signed between the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and Indonesia’s public radio broadcaster Radio Republik Indonesia (RRI). 

​RRI President Director Hendrasmo and ABC International Head Claire M. Gorman signed the new agreement at the ABC offices in Sydney. A delegation of senior leadership from RRI and ABC International were in attendance to welcome the partnership. 

​The establishment of the MOU identifies the shared commitments of the ABC and RRI as public broadcasters in serving their national audiences with informative, educational and entertaining content and services.  

​The key tenets of the agreement endorse the strengthening of the relationship between the ABC and RRI through content sharing across programming, training of teams and personnel, media capacity building and the exchange of technical information. 

​ABC International Head Claire M. Gorman said: “We are proud to be partnering with RRI in this next chapter with future opportunities for collaborative endeavours through content and information exchange. This MOU expresses our mutual commitments as public broadcasters and the shared understanding of how we can best fulfil our obligations to our audiences across the region.” 

​President Director of RRI Hendrasmo said: “In this era of disruption, the key word is collaboration. We want to strengthen our institution, both in terms of content and human resources. This is one of the reasons why we are collaborating with the ABC. Moreover, developing human resources is our current priority, as we aim to remain strong and resilient in facing the era of change that is causing the media to experience difficult times.” 

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Join Papua New Guinean journalist and presenter Scott Waide with ABC Radio Australia’s new series Politok, as he unpacks the major political issues and stories from across the Pacific region. 

Politok is the latest series to join the line-up of Pacific-focused programming across ABC Radio Australia, with weekly episodes breaking down the biggest topics impacting politics in the Pacific.  

Hosted by Scott Waide, Politok investigates the key political issues by speaking with regional leaders, public servants, aid workers, journalists and citizens with analysis delivered by academics and industry experts. 

As the former-Deputy Regional Head of News at Papua New Guinea television station EMTV, Scott has worked extensively across news reporting, researching, and digital storytelling in the Pacific for over 25 years. 

Scott said he is excited to be bringing Politok to ABC Radio Australia audiences. “Discussions around politics and how it affects the lives of ordinary people are essential for awareness and good governance in the Pacific. I have always held the view that political discussions should never be confined just to the circles of politicians. It should be shaped by the opinions and the mood of the public. The media is an integral part of that discourse as it provides the platform for education and awareness as a conduit and intermediary.” 

​ABC Radio Australia Manager Justine Kelly said: “We are thrilled to have Scott presenting Politok. His extensive expertise and experience in reporting and storytelling will provide listeners with unique insights into the biggest political issues impacting the Pacific. Featuring an impressive lineup of guests, Scott will unpack those tough-to-answer questions by speaking with key figures, experts and community members from across the region.” 

​“It’s fantastic having Scott in-country in Papua New Guinea delivering the series, and alongside the dedicated work of Series Producer Jordan Fennell and Producer Kuntamari Crofts, the team have created an outstanding new show on ABC Radio Australia.”   

With a different focus across each episode, over the next ten weeks Politok will discuss fly-in fly-out aid culture, whistleblowers and transparency, women’s representation in politics, protest music, and the prevalence of votes of no confidence in the Pacific.  

​SERIES DETAILS: 

Politok is on air on ABC Radio Australia every Tuesday at 9:00am AEST and PNG, 10:00am SIT and 11:00am FJT and repeated on Thursday afternoons at 2:35pm AEST and PNG time, 3:35pm SIT and 4:35pm FJT. 

WAYS TO LISTEN: 

There are multiple ways to listen to ABC Radio Australia – live via internet streaming or in your area through 24-hour FM stations, or catch up with full episodes on ABC Pacific online.